


Ambition

by cuivresdesax



Category: Queer as Folk (US)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-21
Updated: 2016-02-16
Packaged: 2018-05-15 08:21:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,497
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5778328
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cuivresdesax/pseuds/cuivresdesax
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Brian decides to take on a new challenge.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> DISCLAIMER: QAF and its characters belong to Showtime and Cowlip Productions.

Chapter 1

It all started when Justin came back to Pittsburght after a year spent in New York. 

He was so happy to finally be living with Brian that he decided to get Lindsay and Melanie back too so that the whole family was finally reunited. He started a very active propaganda campaign on the two women on the benefits of moving back, with the enthusiastic support of Michael and Debby. The three of them promised illimited and free baby sitting as well as permanent availability to get the children to whatever activity they had.

Melanie and Lindsay were tempted; they did miss their friends and the children both missed their respective fathers. Toronto was wonderful but so cold in the seemingly never-ending winter and they alas discovered that a gay-friendly legislation didn't make all homophobes disappear by magic. 

However, the real obstacle to a move back, Lindsay confided to Justin on the phone, was money issues. Melanie would have to start back as a junior associate in a law firm. With the low income they both would make until they were established, she would have to deprave her daughter of many things she just couldn't afford, while Gus would be given anything he wanted by his father. Michael didn't make enough money to really help and there was no way Melanie would let Brian support her own daughter.

When Justin gave the information to Brian, he called Melanie directly, which he never did, and told her that were they to move back, she would have both Kinnetic and Babylon's practice.

He also promised her that he would personally introduce her to all of his clients so she should perfectly be able to develop her clientele in her own firm.

To prove how serious he was, he started attending all the social events held in Pennsylvania; and since he was deadly handsome, charming, brilliant, witty, elegant,...and being gay made him just unconventional enough to be fascinating; he was quickly inundated with invitations by the most successful and long established families of Pittsburgh. He himself threw some great diners in his beautiful house, of course catered by Emmet's business.

It all worked perfectly. 

Melanie and Lindsay did come back and Melanie attended as many events as possible with Brian. She had learned to abate a little her propagandist behavior and as she was intelligent, talented and good looking, she also was appreciated in the highest circles. Soon her practice ensured her a good income, and she was allowed to spoil her daughter as much as Brian liked to spoil Gus.

It did help Brian's relations with his son, now that a truce had been found between him and Melanie. He was granted as many visitation hours as he wished and every Saturday Gus would spend the day and even sleep at Britin.

One day, about two years after their return, Melanie told Brian that he didn't need to keep such an active social life, he had more then kept his promise and she didn't need his help to gain new clients anymore. She was popular enough and had met the important people, she could carry on alone.

Brian then realized with surprise that he enjoyed very much his new activities and had no intention of giving them up. It was extremely flattering to be counted amongst the finest society of Pittsburg. He was not only a very successful businessman, he was somebody important.

He loved the local fame he was getting, not just the Liberty Avenue Stud fame, but the Concerned Citizen and Philanthropist fame. He was a distinguished member of the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry, and his talents as a speaker had him invited on a regular basis in the state colleges and school.

One of his finest moments was the first talk he was asked to give at Gus school; his son had been so proud and had insisted afterward that he come pick him up after school every day.

A curious side effect was the bound his new activities created with Ben. As a teacher at Carnegie Mellon and writer, Ben, even still considered totally boring by Brian, was cultured and fitted fine in his new milieu. Of course, the fact that he was such a beautiful man was an appreciated bonus. The professor enjoyed meeting rich people who could finance cultural events for this students, and any donation made to the college was welcome. He liked too to meet scholar people and so the two men and Melanie got to spend more and more time together. 

So Brian kept up even more with his new life, joining all the top clubs of Pittsburg, implying himself in charity and social events. 

He met with politicians and found himself elected councilman of his district. He loved the challenge, loved to realize that amongst politics he had to deal with intelligent and ruthless people and prove yet again that he was just the best.

He ended up being on the executive team of the current mayor, democrat's Oberter. But Oberter was not up to the task, and with the new elections coming, a new candidate had to be chosen.

It really wasn't a surprise to Brian when his new influential friends suggested he should be the candidate for mayor at the upcoming elections. In fact, he was expecting it. 

The truth was, he had been thinking about it for a few years. It was one of the reasons he had always kept and even extended the loft, buying the one underneath, so he still was a resident of Pittsburgh and Britin was the week-end and holiday house. But he knew the time was not right.

Now it was.

The advertisement business was pretty much routine for him now that he had managed to put together such a great team for Kinnetic. He still was the boss but the team was reliable, so he didn't have to imply himself as much as he used to.

Babylon was trusted to a manager, he just had to oversee it on a weekly basis. But at 44, Brian just did not enjoy Babylon like he used to. He was uneasy being in a place where he was amongst the oldest.

Gus was a teenager and more willing to spend time with his friends than with his dad and even though his mothers had moved back to Pittsburgh, Brian saw less of him than when he was living in Toronto.

And of course, he had Justin. Couple life had turned on to be surprisingly good. He was not bored in any way with his partner. He loved living with him, spending time with him and of course making love to him.

But Justin had his work, his friends, they had always kept a certain level of independence.

Life was good, no questioning, but a mind like Brian could not live without challenges.


	2. Chapter 2

Brian wanted to discuss it with Justin before making his decision official. Not that he needed his permission, but he wanted his approval. He really wanted to do this, hell, he needed to do it and he was going to do it. 

But he had seen first hand when he was working for Stockwell that a candidate's family was an important part of the campaign. Even if his partner wouldn't be on the front line, a minimum of exposure was inevitable and he had to make sure that Justin was comfortable with it.

He went home and walked directly to his partner. It didn't exactly go as he had planned, because before he could even open his mouth Justin cut him short : 

“Holy shit, you're gonna run for mayor!”

“ Don't fucking do that!” replied a slightly frightened and very annoyed Brian. He was dark, mysterious and unpredictable, dammit! Justin was just a little too intuitive when it came to him. A man should be allowed some privacy in his own head.

“So”, he added after a while, “what do you think?”

“I think”, said Justin very slowly, walking towards him smiling, “that the best thing that could happen to this city is to have you as mayor. I think everyone with a minimum of common sense will vote for you. And I think that no one will do a better job than you. I am proud of you, Brian, really.”

“Because I'm still struggling with my power issues?”

“Because you're willing to give your time, your energy, your intelligence, your integrity, to this community”.

Justin had walked up close to Brian and had his arms around his waist, looking up at him. And Brian wondered once more how his partner of so many years could still have so much trust and admiration in him. But it certainly felt good.

“Well, Sunshine, it's good to know I can count on your support”.

“I can make some kick-ass artwork for you, if you like”.

“Unfortunately, aspiring mayor Kinney cannot afford the exorbitant fees of a world wide renowned artist. I wouldn't want Pittsburgh honest citizens to picture me as some ruthless businessman buying his election; and spending the campaign budget on my partner would probably not make me look so good either”.

“Well, I can't work for free. It would be disastrous for my rates. You have to find a way to compensate me in a way that satisfies both parties”.

“That shouldn't be a problem”. And Brian kissed Justin and both men decided that more talk of the election could wait until next day.

 

The next morning, at breakfast, Brian decided he would speak to Gus before he left for school, so he could make his announcement before noon. He called his son from his car. 

The relations between Justin and Gus had been tensed for the last months, to his chagrin. He knew the tension originally was Gus' fault. The affectionate child always eager to play with Justin had been replaced by an arrogant teenager.

It was the only downfall of Melanie's financial success. Now Gus was raised in a totally wealthy environment, and both at his mothers and his father. Melanie and Lyndsay's house was not as imposing as Britin, but it still was a beautiful house in Pittsburgh's best neighborhood. 

He was attending Pittsburgh's best private school and was without doubt the most popular student there. He was tall, handsome, and the star player of the basketball team. Even if he was a total jock, only interested in sports, as he had also inherited his father's intelligence, he managed to get very good grades with very minimum work.

He had learned that the competitive relation between Brian and Melanie could be used to his advantage. If one of them refused to buy him anything, he only had to mention it to the other to get it. He mostly used this to be allowed to throw parties at both his houses, parties were only the best (by Gus standards) of his fellow schoolmates were invited to.

In school, he had always at least one girl following him. He was definitely straight and as unwilling to be in a relationship as his father had been. So he had many many girlfriends, but not one had lasted more than a month.

He was a spoiled kid, used to being admired and looking down on what he considered lesser people, among his pears and among his parents entourage.

He avoided Debbie and Carl; Debbie was just a waitress, Carl was only a cop, they both had awful taste in clothes (and in about everything else, for that matter). Michael was just a comic books shop owner, and not a very successful one. Emmett was a living caricature ; the only interesting thing about him was his past romance with Drew Boyd but well, that was past. Ted and Ben were deadly boring, but what can you expect from an accountant and an English teacher?

And of course, Justin. Justin was just all wrong. Gus didn't care at all that his father was gay but he should have a partner more worthy of him. 

First, Justin was an artist. Okay, a successful artist, but still. And the artistic stuff he did was just ridiculous. It was all abstract things that Gus couldn't make out, not Bansky style cool stuff. Just lame things, made for old intellectual people, nothing that Gus could even pretend to be interested in. His father used to force him to attend his exhibits but after Gus spent his time there on his phone or his PlayStation, he had given up.

Justin looked too young. Gus knew he was 17 years older than him, but he looked like he was still in his early 20's. It was embarrassing and making Brian look like a pervert. 

And Justin was not into sports. He couldn't name a single player of the NBA and wouldn't watch games on TV, which was really OK because Gus liked watching with just his father better, but still. Brian took his son to attend NBA games and played the ball with his son, all things that Justin just had no interest in.

Justin couldn't even dress. Gus, like Brian, was a fashionista, and father and son went on shopping sprees together for hours. Every trimester, they would fly to New-York to renew their wardrobe. Justin would fly with them but spend his days in art galleries and exhibits. 

He couldn't even get involved enough to help his partner in his political career. He seldom went with Brian to social events, did not mingle with the high society that was now Brian and Melanie usual circle. 

As far as Gus could see, his father and Justin just had nothing in common; well, of course, except for sex, but that didn't put Justin very high in Gus opinion, it just made him some kind of fuckbuddy for his father. He was certain that his father would be happier with a man who shared his interests and had better social standing. 

So Gus had started being openly rude to Justin. Certain that his father would side with him, he first did it in front of Brian. He had been surprised when his father had each time yelled at him and made him apologize, before Justin could even react. He decided it was some kind of misplaced loyalty Brian felt towards Justin, due to past events (Gus, of course, had been told about the bashing and his father guilty feelings).

So he kept on antagonizing Justin, but in private. Justin, not being the most patient man in the world, confronted him about it. They both tried to keep Brian out of it, for different reasons. 

Of course, Brian was not a fool, he was perfectly aware of the strained relations between his partner and his son. He thought it was a teenage phase that Gus was going through, a phase that would pass soon. In the meantime, these two needed time apart, which was not very difficult to manage.


End file.
